Virtual Gallery of Historic Saint John

Early Paintings, Prints, and Photographs, 1750-1910

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"A North View of Fort Frederick built by order of Hon. Col. Robert Monckton on the entrance of the St. John River in the Bay of Fundy", 1758. Perhaps the earliest known view of a site that would be part of the city of Saint John. The fort was on what became the Carleton side of the river (today's Saint John West), and the view is looking south from Navy Island. Watercolour, pen and black ink on laid paper, by Lt. Thomas Davies. Credit: National Gallery of Canada (no. 6269).

"The Entrance of the River St. John, 14 November 1776", aquatint with etching by Joseph F. W. Des Barres, published in The American Neptune. The view is from between Manawagonish Island and Partridge Island; the perspective of the latter island is 7 leagues distant to the north by northeast. Credit: Library of Congress/LC-USZ62-46031.

View of the town and harbour of Saint John taken from the hills southwest of Fort Howe, ca. 1815, lithograph by C. Turner after a painting by Ralph Stennett. Credit: Library and Archives Canada/C-014143.

Town of Saint John, 1817, by John E. Woolford. Credit: Nova Scotia Museum/78.45.111.

View of the Great Conflagration that took Place on the Night of Saturday, 14th of January 1837, Saint John. Lithograph by Fitz Hugh Lane of Thomas Moore's Establishment, Boston, after a drawing by William H. Wentworth from a sketch made by Thomas H. Wentworth. Caption: "The FIRE commenced Peter Wharf about 9 o'clock in evening, by which at least One Third of the commercial part of the city of SAINT JOHN in the Province of New Brunswick became a heap of smouldering ashes..." Credit: Library and Archives Canada/Peter Winkworth Collection/P14.

Meeting of the sleigh club at the barracks in Saint John, 1837". Artist: Richard George Augustus Levinge. Watercolour. Credit: Royal Ontario Museum/953.186.2.

Saint John from the Signal, from Canadian Scenery, 1842, drawing by William Henry Bartlett and steel engraving by Charles Cousen. Credit: Rob Fisher.

Saint John and Portland, from Canadian Scenery, 1842, drawing by William Henry Bartlett and steel engraving by Robert Wallis. Credit: Rob Fisher.

Indiantown, from Canadian Scenery, 1842, drawing by William Henry Bartlett and steel engraving by W. Mossman. This village was just above the Reversing Falls, a few miles from Saint John and is now within the city limits. Because of its location above the falls, which due to high tides were only passable for a few hours each day, Indiantown became the terminus for steamer traffic upriver to Fredericton. The structure in this print may be the large steam-powered sawmill built at Indiantown in 1839, which was considered the "most scientific and complete" example of mill engineering in North America at the time, according to Graeme Wynn (Timber Colony, pp.89-91). Credit: Rob Fisher.

Falls on the St. John River, from Canadian Scenery, 1842, drawing by William Henry Bartlett and steel engraving by Charles Cousen. Credit: Rob Fisher.

View of the City of Saint John, New Brunswick from the rock in the rear of Sandpoint, Carleton, New Brunswick. Lithograph by John H. Bufford, Boston, after a drawing by George Neilson Smith. Credit: Library and Archives Canada/ Peter Winkworth Collection/ P30.

View of Saint John, 1851, lithograph by Napoleon Sarony after a drawing by John William Hill. Credit: Library and Archives Canada/C-011239.

"View of the City of St. John's, New Brunswick", 1853. Engraving by Samuel E. Brown, publication unknown. Credit: Rob Fisher.

"View of Saint John, New Brunswick", from the signal, 1855. Wood engraving, published by Ballou's Pictorial (Boston 1855), artist and engraver unknown. The view is very similar to that of the print by Bartlett above from Canadian Scenery. Credit: Rob Fisher.

"Indiantown", ca. 1857-1872. Lithograph by Currier and Ives. Again, another view that is very similar to the one done by Bartlett in Canadian Scenery. As noted by one expert, "Currier & Ives were also not above borrowing images from other print publishers, both American and European". Credit: Public Domain.

"Armstrong Gun on Sleigh in the Ordnance Yard, Saint John, in readiness to be taken overland to Canada", 1862. Anonymous artist and engraver, published in the Illustrated London News, 29 March 1862. Credit: Public Domain.

"Town and harbour of Saint John", 1866. Anonymous artist and engraver, published in the Illustrated London News, 12 May 1866. Credit: Public Domain.

"Recent fire in Saint John, New Brunswick", from Canadian Illustrated News, 29 April 1871, volume III, no. 17 page 268. Engraver unknown, from a sketch by Edward John Russell. Credit: Public Domain.

"Narrows of the St. John River looking towards Indiantown", from Canadian Illustrated News, 1 March 1873, engraved by Bohuslav Kroupa after a sketch by E.J.R. [Edward John Russell]. Credit: Library and Archives Canada/C-059039.

"Narrows of the St John River looking towards South Bay", from Canadian Illustrated News, 15 March 1873, engraved by Bohuslav Kroupa after a sketch by Edward John Russell. Credit: Public Domain.

"Suspension Bridge and Lunatic Asylum, Saint John, New Brunswick", before 1874. Photograph by James McClure. Credit: National Gallery of Canada (no. 32199.1).

"View in Saint John Harbour", before 1874. Photograph by James Notman. Credit: National Gallery of Canada (no. 32199.10).

"Dockside ruins of Saint John after the Great Fire of 1877", 1877. Photograph by John S. Climo. Credit: National Gallery of Canada (no. 21340).

Ruins of the Great Fire of 1877, Saint John. The stone remnants of the Germain Street Baptist Church are visible in the far distance. Photograph by G. M. Simonson. Credit: New Brunswick Museum.

Great fire of Saint John, 7 July 1877, View of the corner of King and German Streets. Engraver unknown, after J. C. Miles, published in the Canadian Illustrated News. Credit: Public Domain.

"Saint John, New Brunswick, North Wharf", from Canadian Illustrated News, 22 May 1879, volume XIX, no. 21, page 329. Engraver unknown, from a sketch by Edward Clare. Credit: Public Domain.

The Reversing Falls and the Bridges from the souvenir view album Saint John, 1604-1904 (Toronto: W. G. MacFarlane, 1904). Credit: National Gallery of Canada.

"First steam saw-mill in New Brunswick, 1822", [ca. 1910]. New British timber duties in 1821 provided an impetus for sawmilling in New Brunswick. Saint John merchants Otty and Crookshank built the province's first steam sawmill on the Straight Shore in Portland. According to Graeme Wynn, it opened with great fanfare in 1822 with the lieutenant-governors of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia present, but did not prove as profitable as hoped (Timber Colony, p.95). Photographer unknown. Credit: New York Public Library/ Pageant of America Collection.